Battery-conserving flashlight and method thereof

ABSTRACT

A battery-conserving flashlight and method thereof are provided. The flashlight includes a body having a first end and a second end, the first end including an illumination source and the second end including an opening for accessing an interior of the body; at least one battery disposed in the body via the opening in the second end, the at least one battery coupled to and configured for powering the illumination source; and a controller disposed in the body configured to determine if the body is in motion, wherein if the body is not in motion for a predetermined period of time, the controller decouples the at least one battery from the illumination source to conserve energy in the at least one battery. Optionally, the flashlight may include a visual or audible indicator to alert a user that the flashlight will shutdown.

PRIORITY

The present application is a continuation application of, and claimspriority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/106,848, filed on Dec.15, 2013, which in turn is a continuation application of, and claimspriority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/337,562 filed on Dec.27, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,610,372 issued on Dec. 17, 2013. Thecontents of U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 14/106,848 and 13/337,562as well as U.S. Pat. No. 8,610,372 are hereby incorporated by referencein their entireties.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates generally to flashlight and batteryconsuming electronic devices, and more particularly, to abattery-conserving flashlight and method thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

Flashlights are well known in the art. Generally, flashlights arepowered by at least one disposable battery, the size of which depends onthe size of the flashlight and wattage of the illumination source, e.g.,an incandescent bulb, a light emitting diode (LED), etc.

Energy within the battery is consumed whenever the illumination sourceis activated, e.g., manually by an on/off switch. Frequently,flashlights are turned on for a specific purpose and left onindefinitely when a user puts the flashlight down to complete a task. Ininstances, where the user places the flashlight down in an uprightposition with the illumination source facing downward, the user willmost likely not realize the flashlight is still on. Leaving theflashlight on for long periods of time drains the battery, oftenresulting in a “dead” or unusable flashlight upon the next attempteduse.

Upon the next attempted use, at least one new battery will need to beinstalled (consuming more natural resources) and the depleted batterywill need to be disposed of cluttering landfills. Therefore, a needexists for a flashlight which conserves and extends the life of the atleast one battery disposed therein.

SUMMARY

A battery-conserving flashlight and method thereof are provided.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a flashlight is providedincluding a body having a first end and a second end, the first endincluding an illumination source and the second end including an openingfor accessing an interior of the body; at least one battery disposed inthe body via the opening in the second end, the at least one batterycoupled to and configured for powering the illumination source; and acontroller disposed in the body configured to determine if the body isin motion, wherein if the body is not in motion for a firstpredetermined period of time, the controller decouples the at least onebattery from the illumination source to conserve energy in the at leastone battery.

In another aspect, the flashlight further includes a motion sensingdevice coupled to the controller, the motion sensing device configuredto detect motion of the body.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, a method forconserving battery life in a flashlight is provided, the methodincluding manually activating the flashlight by a user; detecting if theflashlight is in motion; upon detecting that the flashlight is not inmotion, activating a visual indicator; and upon detecting that theflashlight is not in motion for a predetermined period of time,deactivating the flashlight.

In yet another aspect, the method includes activating an audibleindicator a second predetermined period of time after activating thevisual indicator.

In another aspect, the activating the visual indicator step includesintermittently activating an illumination source of the flashlight.

In still another aspect of the present disclosure, the detecting if theflashlight is in motion step further comprises starting a timer to countto the predetermined period of time. The timer may be restarted byshaking the flashlight.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, abattery-conserving electronic device includes a body including anopening for accessing an interior of the body; at least one batterydisposed in the body and configured for powering the device; and acontroller disposed in the body configured to determine if the body isin motion, wherein if the body is not in motion for a firstpredetermined period of time, the controller decouples the at least onebattery from the electronic device to conserve energy in the at leastone battery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become more apparent in light of the following detaileddescription when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flashlight in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a flashlight in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for conserving battery lifein an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood that the elements shown in the figures may beimplemented in various forms of hardware, software or combinationsthereof. Preferably, these elements are implemented in a combination ofhardware and software on one or more appropriately programmedgeneral-purpose devices, which may include a processor, memory andinput/output interfaces.

The present description illustrates the principles of the presentdisclosure. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the artwill be able to devise various arrangements that, although notexplicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of thedisclosure and are included within its spirit and scope.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended forpedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principlesof the disclosure and the concepts contributed by the inventor tofurthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitationto such specifically recited examples and conditions.

Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, andembodiments of the disclosure, as well as specific examples thereof, areintended to encompass both structural and functional equivalentsthereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include bothcurrently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in thefuture, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function,regardless of structure.

Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat the block diagrams presented herein represent conceptual views ofillustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the disclosure.Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams,state transition diagrams, pseudo-code, and the like represent variousprocesses which may be substantially represented in computer readablemedia and so executed by a computer or processor, whether or not suchcomputer or processor is explicitly shown.

The functions of the various elements shown in the figures may beprovided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardwarecapable of executing software in association with appropriate software.When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a singlededicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality ofindividual processors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicituse of the term “processor” or “controller” should not be construed torefer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and mayimplicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (“DSP”)hardware, read only memory (“ROM”) for storing software, random accessmemory (“RAM”), and nonvolatile storage.

Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included.Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Theirfunction may be carried out through the operation of program logic,through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control anddedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique beingselectable by the implementer as more specifically understood from thecontext.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any configuration or design described hereinas “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other configurations or designs. Herein, the phrase“coupled with” is defined to mean directly connected to or indirectlyconnected with through one or more intermediate components. Suchintermediate components may include both hardware and software basedcomponents.

A battery-conserving flashlight and method thereof are provided. Theflashlight of the present disclosure conserves the battery life of atleast one battery disposed therein by providing a visual and/or audiblewarning to a user that the flashlight has been turned on but appears tono longer be in use by an operator or user. The techniques of thepresent disclosure further provide for shutting off the flashlight ordecoupling the battery from an illumination source after a predeterminedperiod of time if the user does not respond to the visual and/or audiblealert. In this manner, the flashlight will conserve the energy orbattery life of a power or energy source disposed within if theflashlight determines that it is no longer in use.

Referring to FIG. 1, a battery-conserving flashlight 100 in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. Theflashlight 100 includes a generally cylindrical body 102 having a firstend 104 and a second end 106. The first end 104 includes an illuminationsource 108, e.g., an incandescent light bulb, light emitting diode(LED), etc., and the second end 106 includes an opening 110 foraccessing an interior of the body 102. At least one battery, or energysource, is disposed in the body 102 via the second opening 110 and isretained in the body by a cap 112 or similar means. It is to beappreciated that the energy source or battery may be disposable and/orrechargeable.

An on/off switch 114 is provided on an exterior surface of the body 102for manually activating the flashlight by a user. Furthermore, a visualindicator 116 and audible indicator 118 are also provided on theexterior surface of the flashlight 100, the details of which will bedescribed below.

Referring to FIG. 2, a schematic diagram 200 of the flashlight 100 isillustrated. At least one battery 220 is coupled to an illuminationsource 108 and provides power for illuminating the illumination source108. In one embodiment, the at least one battery 220 is coupled to theillumination source 108 via a switch 222 which is controller bycontroller 224. The controller 224 controls the switch 222 based onvarious inputs to the controller 224 for activating or deactivating theillumination source. For example, on/off switch 114 provides an inputsignal to the controller 224 when the on/off switch 114 disposed on theexterior of the body 102 is manually activated by a user. By controllingthe switch 222, the controller 224 couples or decoupled the at least onebattery to the illumination source 108.

The controller 224 is configured to determine if the flashlight is inuse and, based on whether the flashlight is in use or not, will providean indication to the user that the flashlight was left on or,alternatively, shut off the flashlight. In one embodiment, theflashlight will include a motion sensing device or sensor 226 configuredto determine if the flashlight or body 102 is in motion, e.g., if theflashlight is being carried. An exemplary motion sensor is anaccelerometer, which is a sensing element that measures acceleration;acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with respect to time. Theaccelerometers can be used to measure static acceleration (gravity),tilt of an object, dynamic acceleration, shock to an object, velocity,orientation and the vibration of an object. It is to be appreciated thatany known or to be developed accelerometer may be employed including butnot limited to capacitive accelerometers, piezoelectric accelerometers,piezoresistive accelerometers, hall effect accelerometers,magnetoresistive accelerometers, heat transfer accelerometers and MEMS(micro-electro mechanical system) based accelerometers. By employing anaccelerometer as the motion sensing device 226, the controller 224 candetermine if the flashlight is being carried, i.e., is in motion.Additionally, since the accelerometer can determine orientation, thecontroller 224 can determine if the flashlight was placed on a surfacewith the illumination source 108 facing downward; in other words, thatthe first end 104 of flashlight 100 was placed on a surface with thelongitudinal axis of the body 102 of flashlight being perpendicular tothe surface. In this scenario, the light emitting from the illuminationsource usually goes undetected and the user will not realize theflashlight is still turned on.

A visual indicator 116 is provided on the exterior surface of the bodyand is coupled to the controller 224. In one embodiment, the visualindicator 116 is a LED. The controller 224 activates the visualindicator 116 after the controller 224 determines that the body 102 ofthe flashlight is not in motion or being used. In one embodiment, thecontroller 224 starts a timer after the controller 224 first determinesthat the flashlight is not in use and then activates the visualindicator 116 after a predetermined period of time, e.g., 30 minutes.The visual indicator 116 serves as an alert to the user that theflashlight has been left on. It is to be appreciated that thispredetermined period of time is adjustable. The predetermined period oftime is adjusted by a user input 130 disposed on the exterior surface ofthe body 102. In one embodiment, the user input 130 is a slider coupledto the controller 224, wherein the user adjusts the slider to the adesired period of time as indicated by a plurality of graduation marks132 adjacent the slider 130. It is to be appreciated that other types ofuser inputs may be employed to adjust the predetermined period of time,for example, a dial, pushbutton, etc.

Alternatively, the controller 224 activates an audible indicator 118after the controller 224 determines the flashlight is not being used.The audible indictor 118 may be a buzzer, beeper, speaker, etc. or anyother to be developed audible device.

In one embodiment, the controller 224 activates the visual indicator 116after a first predetermined period of time of inactivity and thenactivates the audible indictor 118 after a second period of inactivityjust before the controller 224 shuts down the flashlight, e.g.,decouples the battery 220 from the illumination source 108.

It is to be appreciated that at any time after the visual and/or audibleindicators have been activated the user can prevent the flashlight fromturning off by moving the body 102 of the flashlight 100. For example,if the flashlight is use by a user but is not in motion, the user willwant the flashlight to remain lit. In this scenario, after either thevisual and/or audible indicators have been activated, the user canmerely give the body 102 of the flashlight 100 a shake to stop the timerand prevent the flashlight 100 from shutting down. The motion sensor 226will sense the shake or movement and signal the controller 224 of same.

In another embodiment, the visual indication may be provided by theillumination source 108. In this embodiment, the controller 224 willcause the illumination source to intermittently turn on and off, i.e.,to flash, to alert the user that the flashlight has been activated butis possibly not in use. As described above, the controller 224 willintermittently flash the illumination source 108 after a predeterminedperiod of time. The user may stop the flashing of the illumination andreturn to continuous use by merely shaking the body 102 of theflashlight 100.

In a further embodiment, an enable/disable switch 134 is provided on theexterior of the body 102 to enable or disable the battery conservingfeatures of the flashlight. In the disable mode, the switch 134 sends asignal to the controller 224 to indicate to the controller 224 thatmonitoring of the motion sensor 226 is to be disable and to leave theillumination source 108 activate regardless of the period of time theillumination source 108 is activate. In the disable mode, the visualand/or audible indicators are never activated.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for conserving battery lifein an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Initially, in step 302, the flashlight 100 is manually activated by theuser via on/off switch 114. In step 304, the controller 224 willdetermine if the flashlight is in use, i.e., the body 102 is in motion.If the flashlight is in use, the controller 224 will continuouslymonitor for inactivity; otherwise, if the flashlight is not is use, thecontroller 224 will start a timer, step 306.

In step 308, the controller 224 will check again to see if motion hasbeen detected and, if motion has been detected, the process will revertto step 304. However, if no motion has been detected, the controller 224will determined if the timer value is greater than a first predeterminedperiod of time, in step 310. If the timer value is less than the firstpredetermined period of time, the process will revert to step 308. Ifthe timer value is greater than the first predetermined period of time,the controller 224 will activate the visual and/or audible indicators116, 118, in step 312.

After the visual and/or audible indicators have been activated, thecontroller 224 will continue to monitor for use or motion, in step 314.At this point if motion has been detected, e.g., in response to the usershaking the flashlight, the process will revert to step 304 and thevisual and/or audible indicators will be deactivated. If motion hasstill not been detected, the controller 224 will determined if the timervalue is greater than a second predetermined period of time, step 316.It is to be appreciated that all predetermined periods of timereferenced in the present disclosure are adjustable by the user, forexample, by the input mechanism 130 disposed on the exterior surface ofthe body 102 of the flashlight 100. If the timer value is less than thesecond predetermined period of time, the process will revert to step314. If the timer value is greater than the first predetermined periodof time, the controller 224 will deactivate the flashlight, in step 318,i.e., will decouple the battery 220 from the illumination source 108.

By employing the devices and techniques described above, the flashlightof the present disclosure will conserve the energy level or battery lifeof the power source disposed within. In the case of a disposable batteryor power source, less batteries will be used resulting in less physicalwaste to be disposed of and, in the case of a rechargeable battery orpower source, less electricity will be consumed to recharge thebatteries. It is to be appreciated that although the context of thepresent disclosure was described in relation to a flashlight theteachings, techniques and principles of the present disclosure can beapplied to other electronic device that employ at least one battery, forexample, a radio, portable media player, mobile phone, laptop computer,tablet, etc. It is to be appreciated that this list is merelyillustrative and in no way meant to be exhaustive.

Although the disclosure herein has been described with reference toparticular illustrative embodiments, it is to be understood that theseembodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applicationsof the present disclosure. Therefore numerous modifications may be madeto the illustrative embodiments and other arrangements may be devisedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure,which is defined by the appended claims.

Furthermore, although the foregoing text sets forth a detaileddescription of numerous embodiments, it should be understood that thelegal scope of the present disclosure is defined by the words of theclaims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description isto be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possibleembodiment, as describing every possible embodiment would beimpractical, if not impossible. One could implement numerous alternateembodiments, using either current technology or technology developedafter the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within thescope of the claims.

It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined inthis patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘______’ ishereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intentto limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication,beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not beinterpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in anysection of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To theextent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent isreferred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning,that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader,and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implicationor otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element isdefined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recitalof any structure, it is not intended that the scope of any claim elementbe interpreted based on the application of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixthparagraph.

What is claimed is:
 1. A flashlight comprising: a body having a firstend and a second end, the first end including a light source and thesecond end including an opening for accessing an interior of the body;at least one battery disposed in the body via the opening in the secondend, the at least one battery coupled to and configured for powering thelight source; a controller disposed in the body configured to determineif the body is in motion, wherein if the body is not in motion for afirst predetermined period of time, the controller decouples the atleast one battery from the light source to conserve energy in the atleast one battery; and a visual indicator disposed on an exteriorsurface of the body, wherein the controller activates the visualindicator after a second predetermined period of time of no motion, thesecond predetermined period of time being less than the firstpredetermined period of time.
 2. The flashlight of claim 1, furthercomprising at least one first switch for coupling the at least onebattery to the light source, the at least one first switch beingcontrolled by the controller.
 3. The flashlight of claim 1, furthercomprising a motion sensing device coupled to the controller, the motionsensing device configured to detect motion of the body.
 4. Theflashlight of claim 3, wherein the motion sensing device is anaccelerometer.
 5. The flashlight of claim 3, wherein the motion sensingdevice is a motion detection device.
 6. The flashlight of claim 1,further comprising an audible indictor disposed on an exterior surfaceof the body, wherein the controller activates the audible indicatorafter the second predetermined period of time of no motion, the secondpredetermined period of time being less than the first predeterminedperiod of time.
 7. The flashlight of claim 2, wherein the controller isconfigured to intermittently activate the at least one first switchafter the second predetermined period of time of no motion to flash thelight source, the second predetermined period of time being less thanthe first predetermined period of time.
 8. The flashlight of claim 3,further comprising a second switch for enabling or disabling the motionsensing device, the second switch being disposed on an exterior surfaceof the body for manual activation by a user.
 9. A method for conservingbattery life in a flashlight, the method comprising: manually activatingthe flashlight by a user; detecting if the flashlight is in motion; upondetecting that the flashlight is not in motion, activating a visualindicator; and upon detecting that the flashlight is not in motion for apredetermined period of time, deactivating the flashlight.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising activating an audible indicator asecond predetermined period of time after activating the visualindicator.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the activating the visualindicator step includes intermittently activating a light source of theflashlight.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the detecting if theflashlight is in motion step further comprises starting a timer to countto the predetermined period of time.
 13. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising restarting the timer by shaking the flashlight.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the predetermined period of time isadjustable.
 15. A battery-conserving electronic device comprising: abody including an opening for accessing an interior of the body; atleast one battery disposed in the body and configured for powering thedevice; a controller disposed in the body configured to determine if thebody is in motion, wherein if the body is not in motion for a firstpredetermined period of time, the controller decouples the at least onebattery from the electronic device to conserve energy in the at leastone battery; and a visual indicator disposed on an exterior surface ofthe body, wherein the controller activates the visual indicator.
 16. Theelectronic device of claim 15, further comprising at least one firstswitch for coupling the at least one battery to the electronic device,the at least one first switch being controlled by the controller. 17.The electronic device of claim 15, further comprising a motion sensingdevice coupled to the controller, the motion sensing device configuredto detect motion of the body.
 18. The electronic device of claim 17,further comprising a second switch for enabling or disabling the motionsensing device, the second switch being disposed on an exterior surfaceof the body for manual activation by a user.
 19. The electronic deviceof claim 15, wherein the visual indicator is displayed on a displayscreen of the electronic device.
 20. The electronic device of claim 15,further comprising an audible indictor disposed on an exterior surfaceof the body, wherein the controller activates the audible indicatorafter the second predetermined period of time of no motion, the secondpredetermined period of time being less than the first predeterminedperiod of time.